1.   This Regulation lays down:

2.   This Regulation covers all domains in which the Agency may accredit qualified entities acting as a competent authority in accordance with Article 62(4), second subparagraph of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

1.   The Agency shall establish and maintain a system for the accreditation of qualified entities. That accreditation system shall include the procedures regulating all of the following:

The accreditation system and the results of the initial accreditation and of the continued oversight and assessment of accredited qualified entities shall be documented and held by the Agency.

2.   Where a national competent authority has already accredited a qualified entity in accordance with an implementing act adopted on the basis of Article 62(14), point (e) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, the Agency may require the national competent authority which issued the accreditation to provide the relevant accreditation reports to the Agency.

3.   Where the Agency and one or more national competent authorities intend to jointly accredit an interested entity, they shall conclude an agreement on the respective roles and responsibilities about the procedures of the accreditation system referred to in point 1 of this Article.

1.   Where the Agency intends to have recourse to qualified entities, it shall publish on its website a notice inviting the interested entities to submit applications for accreditation.

That notice shall specify in particular:

2.   The Agency shall assess the application for accreditation submitted by the applicant having regard to the criteria set out in paragraph 3.

3.   The Agency shall accredit and issue an accreditation certificate to an applicant if, following the assessment referred to in paragraph 2, it concludes that:

4.   The accreditation granted by the Agency shall set out in detail the scope of the tasks, the privileges granted and any related conditions.

5.   Where the applicant does not meet the conditions for accreditation set out in paragraph 3 of this Article, the Agency shall inform that entity accordingly and justify its refusal to grant the accreditation.

1.   The Agency shall develop fair and transparent criteria for allocating tasks to qualified entities accredited in accordance with Article 3. The Agency shall communicate the criteria for the allocation of tasks to all qualified entities.

2.   The following shall be taken into account when developing the allocation criteria referred to in paragraph 1:

3.   When allocating tasks to the qualified entities, the Agency shall enter into a contract in writing, which shall stipulate as a minimum:

The Agency shall assign the performance of the tasks, including the technical management functions, to the qualified entity in the form of a task order that defines the detailed scope of the task to be performed.

4.   When allocating a task to a qualified entity, the Agency shall ensure that the qualified entity complies with all of the essential requirements set out in Annex VI of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139.

1.   A qualified entity shall, without undue delay, notify the Agency of any change in its organisation, procedures and personnel likely to affect its scope of accreditation.

2.   The Agency shall assess the impact of the notified change on the scope of accreditation and privileges and decide whether an additional assessment of the qualified entity is necessary.

3.   The Agency may amend the scope of accreditation according to the significance of the change and, if applicable, the result of the assessment.

1.   The Agency shall verify continued compliance to ensure that the competence, expertise and procedures of a qualified entity comply with Article 3(3).

2.   The verification referred to in paragraph 1 shall be based on a risk-based oversight system taking into account the specific nature of the qualified entity, the complexity of its activities, and the results of past oversight activities.

3.   If the Agency, at any time, finds that the conditions for accreditation referred to in Article 3(3) are no longer fulfilled or if the accredited qualified entity has breached the scope of the accreditation, the Agency shall immediately take appropriate enforcement measures, and if appropriate, limit, suspend or revoke the accreditation of the qualified entity depending upon the extent of the non-compliance until successful corrective action has been taken by the organisation.